Sword Etiquette - Honor and Respect

Is there such a thing as sword etiquette? As odd as it may
sound,
there really is! Let's review what it is and why it is
important.

In order for your sword manners to be appropriate, you need to
understand some of the mentality behind the sword and its
owner.

When
speaking of the Katana, this is the Japanese sword used by a samurai.
As you know, the samurais were trained and focused on respect and
honor. If they were to die in combat, they wanted it to be in an
honorable way and be running away or something cowardly.

Because
of their training, they believed that there was a relationship between
the sword and the samurai. Much of the way they treated their sword had
to do with cultivating this relationship and maintaining proper
respect.

My whole family is involved in martial arts. As we
train on the sword, our instructor frequently mentions that the sword
should be a very meditative weapon. As we learn, we are taught that
sword etiquette is to be aware of surroundings, and contemplating the
value of life. We are not taught to kill, but many of the sword forms
we perform are based on contemplating the value of a life taken in a
symbolic way.

With that in mind, there is one part of
almost every form we do called Chiburi. Chirburi is a move at the end
that is representative of flicking off the blood from your sword.
Chirburi is a Japanese term that means "shaking off the blood" as a
sign of respect for the sword. That is part of the sword etiquette is
to keep the blade clean and not stained by the blood of the
enemy.

Outside
of martial arts, how do you show proper etiquette for the sword?
Ideally, you should never unsheath a sword without permission. A lot of
this has to do with the relationship between the person and the
sword.

For safety reasons, you should never hand the sword
to someone with the blade towards them, or with the sword tip towards
them. Once they have taken the sword, they should point the blade away
from the person that just handed them the sword.

The sword
should be stored in a horizontal position. If a sword is placed
vertically (imagine that you put the sword leaning against the corner
of the wall) it can actually warp the blade depending on the quality of
the sword.

If you treat a sword with respect like this, you
will definitely win over the owner of the sword. In fact, they will
wonder where you were trained in the martial arts! That is what sword
etiquette is all about.